Toyota's Hybrid Sales Surpass 10 Million

Feb. 14, 2017—Toyota has achieved more than 10 million cumulative units of hybrid vehicle sales.

The latest milestone was achieved just nine months after total sales reached 9 million units at the end of April 2016. Toyota Motor North America also saw its sales of hybrids and plug-in hybrids reach a cumulative total, exceeding three million units as of December 31, 2016.

Toyota wants to drive up its annual hybrid sales count to 1.5 million units and bring the cumulative total to 15 million by 2020. In December, the automaker launched the C-HR, a compact SUV built with the same chassis as the Prius. It added the Vitz hybrid to its lineup in January.

"The Prius stands as an icon for sustainability and efficiency, and is a shining example of what you can achieve when you have the right idea to help solve a problem," said Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota. "Hybrids remain an important part of our lineup of vehicles, with over 246,000 units sold last year, and we have seen continued demand with the release of the RAV4 Hybrid variant of the popular compact SUV, accounting for nearly 13 percent of its total sales volume in 2016."

As of January 31, Toyota estimates that the use of Toyota's hybrid vehicles, as an alternative to conventional gasoline-powered vehicles of similar size and driving performance has resulted in approximately 77 million fewer tons of CO2 emissions and has saved approximately 7.66 million gallons of gasoline (29 million kiloliters).